BLACK FRIDAY & GOD'S GREAT GIFTS

YESTERDAY MANY OF US GATHERED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND GAVE THANKS for the blessings and abundance we have received. 

Image by Texas.713 (thisIsIt2) via FlickrTODAY, THOUSANDS of people stood in the dark of night in order to grab good deals on more stuff. The thankfulness declared yesterday for the abundance we have has quickly given way to to the unbridled lust for more.

The Community Group from our church, of which I am a part, will be studying Psalm 130 this Sunday evening. In Psalm 130:6 the psalmist writes,

 I wait for the Lord,
More than the watchmen wait for the morning,
More than the watchmen wait for the morning.

I don't think the psalmist had in mind the thousands who were waiting for the morning in order to grab the gifts and "stuff" that will bring hope and joy to themselves, and yes, to others as well.

Black Friday is America's answer to Good Friday. That day, 2,000 years ago that brought us the gift which each of us really needs. The psalmist describes those gifts in verse seven,

Israel (America) put your hope in the LORD,

for with the LORD there is unfailing love

and with Him there is full redemption.

Now those are the gifts that we all need, those are things worth waking up early for; God's unfailing love and full redemption from our sins. That's the difference between Madison Avenue's Black Friday and God's Good Friday.

This morning, as I pondered the reasons for the thankfulness we gave yesterday, I stumbled upon a blog entry by Seth Godin, entitled "A great way to give thanks." Mr. Godin wrote,

A great way for us to give thanks for the privileges we've got is to do important work. . . .For every person reading this there are a thousand people (literally a thousand) in underprivileged nations and situations that would love to have your slot. Don't waste it.

 I appreciated his challenge. To take those things we declared we were thankful for and to use those things for the betterment of others, which does not mean buying more stuff to cover the stuff we already have, but to use what we have to lift others up.

Over the last few Advent season I have been pointing people to the Advent Conspiracy and I would do so again this year. As I have told my family, the greatest blessing they can give me this Christmas is to give to those who truly need. 

As the Advent season begins this Sunday, I encourage you to take time...even if it means "waiting with the watchmen," to refocus your thoughts on the One, whose advent we are supposedly celebrating. Take time to re-count the Story of the arrival of the Christ-child. Take time to contemplate the meanings of the Advent season. I have found some good daily  Advent resources at YouVersion, an online Bible resource. They have a number of different Bible reading programs to lead you through the season.

[AC] Promo 2011 from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

God bless you as you maintain your focus on the One who has made thanksgiving possible by His entering into our world to bring us the gift of God's unfailing love and full redemption.

Related articles

• An alternative to Black Friday shopping (wycliffeusa.wordpress.com)
• Soulfood for "Black" Friday: The Advent Conspiracy (richardburkey.wordpress.com)
• Listen Up! Ponder This! (ponderingpastor.blogspot.com)